Episode 458 – A Weak Point CAN Be a Good Thing!

This Week In Jeep: 

What do you do if you want to be a Jeeper but your town is overrun with rioters?

Well let me introduce you to Jeeps very own bullet proof production vehicle. Unfortunately, it’s only available in Mexico. Well, I guess it’s time to cash in those sky miles! The bulletproof grand Cherokee just hit a milestone too, as of October 2nd, 2020, the automaker has built and sold 1,000 of them. The body armor for these Grand Cherokees includes elements like ballistic steel perimeter caps that protect the upper part of the vehicle. The vehicle’s glass is gone, instead, there are multiple layers of polyvinyl with a total thickness of 0.75 inches (19-millimeters). There are lots of other tank-like tweaks, like an anti-grenade bottom panel, fully armored engine compartment, window and frame reinforcements, a strengthened suspension, and run-flat tires. Jeep’s armored Grand Cherokee adheres to the US Department of Justice’s NIJ-IIIA level of protection.  What that means is that in order to achieve this rating, the ballistic protection of the vehicle needs to be able to withstand five consecutive rounds of .44 Magnum from at least a 5.5-inch barrel …AND five bullets from a 9-millimeter submachine gun with a barrel at least 9.5 inches long. In other words, this thing can basically withstand an armed attack from BOTH Dirty Harry AND John Wick simultaneously. The DOJ describes NIJ-IIIA as being enough to guard against most handgun threats. Jeep actually manufactures these Grand Cherokees here in the U.S. at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit. They then go to Mexico where the SUV undergoes the armoring process. The Jeep uses a 5.7-liter V8 that makes 360 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque. The only transmission available for these is the eight-speed automatic and uses the Quadra-Trac II active, full-time 4WD system. I guess that means with the beefed up suspension this thing should still be pretty capable off-road. Inside, there are amenities like rich leather all around, an 8.4-inch infotainment display and two-zone automatic climate control among other creature comforts you would expect to come with the Grand Cherokee. So, if you’re like me and question the protective capabilities of your own vehicle as you drive through a city of “peaceful protestors” at night, then consider a bulletproof grand Cherokee. Prices for the armored Jeep Grand Cherokee (in Mexico) start at a little over 1,850,000 pesos (or about $86,500 at current exchange rates.) And with as much as this thing has to weigh, I can’t imagine it would be cheap to ship one back to the US either. (that’s providing customs doesn’t want to have a look at your new daily driver)

We have our first glimpse of the production version of the Jeep Grand Wagoneer

Jeep has been hard at work for some time now on these things too. Lots of work has gone into not only designing, building and now testing the new full size Jeep SUV’s, but I would say just as much work has gone into keeping things as much of a secret as possible. That is until last week when head of Jeep Jim Morrison announced that the concept photos released by Jeep in early September were not concept photos but actual representations of what we can expect to see on showroom floors next year. Since that announcement, TONS of Grand Wagoneer news has been flooding the web. Once again, I have to give credit to the spy photogs at Car and Driver. These guys always seem to get the first shots of the new Jeeps. And they’ve done it again, in spying a Grand Wagoneer in paisley paint getting a run through on city streets. So is what Jim Morrison said true? Well, when compared with the concept version of the full-size SUV that Jeep showed in September, the production Jeep looks nearly identical save for its smaller wheels and tires. You can’t really tell the exact size in these spy photos, it’s clear the wheels and tires on the production test vehicle are nowhere near the massive  24-inchers seen on the Grand Wagoneer concept. It’s possible Jeep will still offer some sort of huge wheel option for production, of course, but more likely that most Wagoneers will have more reasonable 20-, 21-, and 22-inch wheel options. The smaller rolling stock serves to accentuate the Wagoneer’s boxy, tall body, especially from the rear.  Some of the details are different, too, such as the grille shape and the headlights. But we were warned about the lighting elements getting a change from what we saw in the concept pics, and we can see that here with a much more realistic headlight arrangement inside what is a slightly less dramatic-looking grille. We don’t see the fanciful teak accents seen inside the concept car’s LED headlight fixtures, and the taillights are a bit more subdued as well. Jeep will offer both Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer variants of its new full-size SUV, with the latter expected to be more luxurious in terms of trim and features. So who knows, maybe we will see those styling elements from the concept integrated in higher trim levels. Either way, both the Wagoneer and the Grand Wagoneer will ride on the Ram 1500 pickup’s body-on-frame architecture, with modifications including an independent rear suspension. The loss of the solid rear axle gives these larger SUV’s the ability to offer three rows of seats, which will be standard across the board. The concept version allegedly had a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but we expect Jeep to offer conventional V-6 and V-8 gas engines as well, likely the 3.6-liter V-6 and 5.7-liter V-8 units that are already found in the Ram. Jeep has also finally announced pricing structures for the new lines after a very long wait and much debate. We already knew that the top of the line trim is going to run over the six figure mark, but entry level trim will have buyers seeing a starting price at around $60,000. “I CALLED IT!” We should find out more about the production SUVs early next year, as they’re scheduled to start production in mid-2021 before going on sale shortly thereafter.

Newbie Nuggets:

To duck or not to duck?

I’m sure you have all seen it one time or another on FB or Instagram, pictures of people and their little tiny rubber ducks. If you were curious, like I was, I did some checking and it’s quite a popular trend among jeep owners to cheer people up. There are Facebook groups, websites  and Instagram pages filled with people that have been ducked.  Have you been ducked? The idea is that you place a rubber duck on someone’s jeep with a kind message. It’s supposed to be a gesture in kindness and happy thoughts that you can also pass along. Once you get one, you pass along the kindness to someone else and keep it going. There are websites, facebook pages and Instagram that encourage you to share a picture of your duck and thus it begins.  The ducking was created by Allison Parliament. She works in Alabama and Canada and was splitting her time between the two countries due to Covid when she was approached by a man who basically told her to get the F*** out of Canada and that she wasn’t welcome in Canada. Even though she was born and raised there. Well after that terrifying ordeal she turned to something humorous and her and her friends bought some rubber ducks and began placing them on jeeps with messages to pass along the kindness and to take pictures with their rubber ducks. Several months later there are thousands of followers and people participating in this happy trend. There is a website where you can send a duckygram (to brighten someone’s day), or purchase duck-kits (have plenty on hand to pass out to all the jeeps you see) or even a program for clubs to get involved in fundraising. OR you can just go online, buy a bunch of rubber ducks at Walmart, or Amazon, make up the kind gesture cards and start ducking jeeps. You can find ducks to match anything you want, like the color of your jeep (or the jeep you are placing the duck on), or your destination; for instance I saw a pic of a jeep that got ducked on the Beach in California and the rubber ducky was holding a surfboard. I’ve seen pictures of ducks dressed as a fireman, policeman, in motorcycle leathers and even shorts and Hawaiian shirts. I’ve seen some holding things, like a cell phone, or selfie stick, candy, baseball, basketball and even some with sunglasses. It seems you can find all kinds of ducks doing all kinds of things to fit your lifestyle. And it’s not limited to yellow rubber ducks either; they come in all colors of the rainbow. I would give a word of warning; some areas of this country may not appreciate someone ducking their jeep, so giver beware…. So whether you have been ducked or you want to start ducking jeeps, I have some links in the show notes to get you started. Or you can simply search “ducking jeeps” and see what pops up. And call into the show to let us know if you have been ducked and what type of duck you got? Links: FB: Duckduckjeep,  #duckduckjeep,  http://jeepduck.com/ 

Tech Talk With Jeep Talk: 

More Tips From The Junk Yard

Ok last week in Tech Talk we covered an inexpensive way to breathe new life into a saggy leaf sprung Jeep by using parts out of a Junkyard. Well I wanted to continue with this junkyard theme and give some love to the TJ crowd this week. TJ owners deserve a cheap solution to spring problems just as much as anyone else. And of course one of the things that eats any TJ budget to shreds is the cost of a lift kit. Well I’m going to give you a couple of suggestions for some junk yard parts that will help you lift a stock TJ to fit much bigger tires and give you more articulation. What I’m about to share with you will net you anywhere between 2 and 3 inches of lift when you’re done. To accomplish this, you will be pulling the front springs from a V8 Grand Cherokee ZJ. That’s the Jeep SUV built between 1993 and 1998. It must be a V8 Grand Cherokee too, or you won’t get the lift out of the springs. You will also need the thicker isolators found with those same springs. Remember, the Grand was a luxury Jeep, and to dampen some of the road noise they used much thicker isolators that act more like a spacer on the TJ than a sound dampener. The V8 engine in the grands was a much heavier engine and required a slightly taller spring that the V8 grands did, and these springs and isolators together are about 2 to 3 inches or so taller than the front stock TJ springs. Now to bring the rear up to height, we’re going to be looking for a Crown Victoria. That’s right, just like the old cop cars. The Crown Vic springs are also a taller spring, made to handle the weight of such a large car. Here too you’ll want to grab the isolators, and I hear some guys are running both sets of isolators to gain just that extra little bit of height. There are other considerations you will have to take care of after putting these springs into a TJ as well. First and foremost is going to be the shocks. The stock shocks won’t have the travel necessary for the new ride height and suspension travel, so new shocks will be needed. This is another area where the junkyard or even Craigslist, comes to the rescue. Look for take-off shocks from a stock Rubicon JKU. When someone upgrades their Jeep with aftermarket parts, they “take-off” the stock stuff and sell it for super cheap. The stock Rubicon JKU shocks (these are the red ones) will be the perfect upgrade, they are just barely within the specs needed to accommodate the new suspension of the TJ, and will be a suitable, easy to find and inexpensive option. You may need or want to look into track bar relocation brackets as well. These will be needed to re-center the axles under the Jeep after the junkyard lift. You will also want to look into getting an alignment done as soon as possible since you just changed a lot of geometry under the Jeep in some critical areas. There are also a lot of “while you’re in there’s” that can go along with this too. Things like brake line length, visual inspections of steering and brake components. Maybe it’s time for some new wheel bearings or a brake job, or maybe you’ll discover a worn tie rod end, who knows, just be prepared for the unexpected and a last minute run to the parts store. Regardless, be sure to use Black Magic Brake Pads when you DO get to the brake job, as it will help in stopping things on and off the trail. In the end, you’ll have enough lift for some larger tires, you will have increased your suspension travel, and changed the looks of your Jeep for the better.  I will warn you though, that you will get what you pay for. Things may not fit perfectly, things may squeak, and you will definitely notice a change in the ride quality. This is not going to be as soft of a ride as you had before and for a daily driver, I would almost advise against this procedure just because of that. But don’t let that stop you, once lifted, it’s a lot easier to change things later down the road, and you’ll still be doing alot better than you were previously when you’re offroad. EP 371 – BlackMagic Brakes

Jeep Life:

Top 5 Camping Gear Items I Use The Most

Jeep Momma shares her Top 5 Camping Gear Items she uses camping all the time. First Shelter which could be a tent, hammock or the back of your vehicle. Second Cooking Grate for the Fire. Third Cast Iron Pan. Fourth LT Wright knife and kitchen knife Set and Machete. Fifth Camp Chair. Items I don’t use at all. A headlamp because our phones have a flashlight. Axe because we use the machete. Firestarters because there are natural starters in nature. Toaster tool to make toast Next Week on Jeep Life I share my Top 5 items I use for Recovery in order of most used.

Interview with:

Paul Bruno author of “The Original Jeeps”

Paul Bruno has spent twenty years researching, writing and studying early Jeep history. He has spent countless hours and treasure to tell this story to the world, first for the big screen and now twice in book form. After visiting key sites in the story, and years of research, including at the United States National Archives, he combined his knowledge of project management and history into the 2014 book, Project Management in History: The First Jeep. After additional research he completed The Original Jeeps in 2020 which further tells the story of early Jeep history and continues his journey into the depths of this important inspirational work of human ingenuity. Paul has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of project management and information technology. He holds bachelor’s degrees in management and computer software, as well as master’s degrees in business administration and history. You can find The Original Jeeps at Amazon.com and more about early Jeep history at www.originaljeeps.com.

Must Have Stuff:

Carbon Fiber (DON’T call it a “JEEP”) Ring 175.00 It’s a Carbon Fiber “Off Road Inspired Tread & Grill” Ring

The entirely carbon fiber ring features an amazing carved off road style tread pattern very reminiscent of the original BFG KM1 design, but we can’t call it that…. It also comes with a very recognizable iconic grille outline that is seamlessly integrated into the ring’s design. But don’t call it a Jeep grille! … to be honest you won’t even notice or care that it’s a FIVE slot grille and not seven, so call it a Jeep grille if you want. The black carbon fiber ring is lightweight and durable and comes in a wide selection of sizes just for you. Wear it as a wedding band or a simple everyday ring to show your love for going off road. Made in the USA-Made to Order

Campfire Side Chat:

Join the Camp Fire Side chat!  Follow us on Facebook, or receive notifications via our newsletter! It’s very easy to sign up for our newsletter.  Just go to jeeptalkshow.com/contact and you’ll find a link to click and sign up!  It’s as easy to unsubscribe as it is to subscribe!  This episode we asked, “What is the weak point of your Jeep?”  We spoke with Chip, Isaac, Tammy, Stacey, Chris, and Larry!

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Links Mentioned in this Episode: 

Carbon Fiber “Off Road Inspired Tread & Grill” Ring https://www.titanium-buzz.com/off-road-inspired-tread-grill-carbon-fiber-ring/
Jeep 4-1-1 https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver
The book, “The Original Jeeps” By Paul Bruno https://amzn.to/2SAqLNh
The Original Jeeps website https://www.originaljeeps.com